Homecoming 2011! Win or lose we booze! 4-4 baby, Outback Bowl still a possibility? Ok, so one and half of those things sound great. The rest are just frightening. The Florida Gators have lost the last four consecutive games and all of them have come against SEC opponents. Florida hasn’t lost four in a row since 1988. But what about five in a row? We don’t want to know the answer to that one. With Vanderbilt coming into to the swamp, with the same record at 4-4, we better be victorious. This is a must win for Muschamp, cause quite honestly if we lose this game, he may internally combust on the sideline. This is a school that we have typically faired well against and have an 8-1-1 record when facing Vanderbilt during Homecoming.

The Gators come into this game with a chance for some redemption, however the road there won’t be easy this year. The Gator D has to contain Vanderbilt’s Quarterback Jordan Rodgers and  running back, Zac Stacy.  Over the last two games Rodgers has ran for 162 yards and thrown for 426 yards and two touchdowns. Stacy has rushed for 707 yards this year with an average of 7.3 yards per carry. It will be critical to contain Stacy, because if he starts breaking off 7 yard runs one after another, watch out, everything else will open up and the next thing you know we will be down by 14. Vanderbilt is ranked 50th in the nation in rushing yards averaging 167.6 per a game.

On the offensive side for the Gators, John Brantley has to get it going on offense. Last week was his first week back since his injury, so we can write some of that performance off to rust. But this week, no excuses. He has to bring back that early season Brantley who looked comfortable and poised in the pocket (“God…please don’t let that be an aberration or be due to the fact that the first four teams we played this year were terrible.). When the season first started i really thought that just maybe, just maybe two little scat-backs could lead this team to some victories. Unfortunately I was wrong. Its all about John Brantley. We saw this when he was out and our duo of freshman wonder boys managed to put on two of the worst offensive performances I’ve ever seen.

This game is critical. The Gators need to come away with a “W”. Hopefully that W stands for “Win” and not “WTF”

Oh Florida–Georgia weekend. How I remember those days and those sweet southern belles (Lady Bulldogs) that manage to wear black/red dresses all day long for a 3:30 game, and then continue to wear the same dresses that night after the game as well. It’s a wonderful sight and often quite amusing after several cocktails have been consumed. The annual battle between the Georgia Bulldogs (5-2, 4-1 SEC) and the Florida Gators (4-3, 2-3 SEC) is always set to take place the weekend before Halloween. Unfortunately, this match-up is a little bit less critical than both teams are used too as Florida isn’t even ranked in the top 25 and Georgia is towards the back at #22 . Nonetheless, it should be exciting. Both teams are coming back from a bye week and had some time to get healthy. We have been told that John Brantley will be making the start this weekend and is good to go. Thank God, because if we had to endure another offensive display like we witnessed during half of the Alabama game and all of the LSU and Auburn game, I may start trick or treating a day early.

Okay, so here is where my ADD kicks in…I love Halloween. It is a fun time for kids and adults. If you are a parent of a young child, then you are very lucky, because you get to witness something great during Halloween. A complete and utter shocking display of emotions that are all kick started by a sugar induced rage that usually ends with the kid passed out on the couch with a half eaten laffy taffy sticking out of their mouth and the dog licking their fingers hoping for an extra treat. It’s both amusing and frightening. How could something that small inhale so much sugar and not go into a coma or diabetic shock? How great it is to be young. Nonetheless, here is where we come back to football. Most Gator and Bulldog fans will be in similar positions Saturday night after a long day of consuming beverages and rooting for their teams. The only difference is it will be a half a piece of pizza hanging out of their mouth and a random person trying to lick the remnants of food from their stained clothing. Ok, I know that sounds totally creepy and weird, but if any one of you have been to a Florida/ Georgia Weekend in Jacksonville, you would agree that stranger and weirder things can happen.

The Florida Gators dropped their third game in a row to the No. 24 ranked Auburn Tigers 17 – 6. In a game where defense was supposed to determine the outcome, (because both offenses were as good as a Pop Warner team) it turned out to be a football game decided by penalties and mental mistakes made on special teams by the Gators.

Florida’s first offensive series was a tough one to watch. I take that back, almost every offensive series for the Gators (and Auburn) was tough to watch. On the second play from scrimmage, Jacoby Brissett heaved a prayer into the air attempting to convert on the long ball. For one second I actually thought he had someone open and just maybe, maybe this would be reminiscent of the pass Andre Debose caught against Alabama. Unfortunately for the Gator Nation it was nothing of the sort. It was actually a horribly thrown ball that ended up being intercepted. This pretty much set the tone for the entire night.

Auburn’s first touchdown came from a fumbled punt by Chris Rainey. Although it was clear on the replays that Rainey was interfered with as he called for a fair catch, the referees missed the call and awarded the ball to Auburn. Three plays later, Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter connected on a poorly thrown ball to DeAngelo Bennett for a 25 yard score.

From there nothing seemed to improve. The Gators shuffled in three quarterbacks all night. Jeff Driskel was in effective and scared. Jacoby Brissett couldn’t do anything. And Trey Burton in at quarterback gives the Gators a negative edge as everyone knows they are just going to run some sort of wildcat formation and not even attempt to throw the ball.

Overall, it was a horrible offensive performance and a pretty solid defensive performance. The Gators D held the Tigers to 123 yards passing and 155 yards rushing. Both scores for Auburn came off of two different errors that the Gators had on Special teams. One of them just happened to be that our punter forgot how to hold onto a ball when he punts it. Yes, the ball was snapped to him perfectly. He caught the ball perfectly. He had no one even around him trying to block the kick. And yes, he takes one step forward, getting ready to wind up and boot the ball, and he fumbles it in his hands. Picks it up, tries to hurry and kicks a wonderful 15-yard punt. It was simply fantastic. With things like this happening all night, it was just impossible to come away with a win even if the defense keeps you in the game the entire night.

I don’t think anyone ever thought we would be missing Brantley this much. But we do and we need him back now. It’s going to be a long season if we are stuck with rotating Driskel, Burton and Brissett.

In the 8th straight meeting where both the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers were ranked in the top 25, The Tigers dominated the game and proved to be the better team with a 41 – 11 victory over the Gators.  One could almost see this coming, especially after watching the Alabama game last week. However there was still some anticipation for Florida fans as they were going to get their first look at freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett. John Brantley, the Gators captain and starter was injured in the first half of the Alabama game with a severe ankle sprain. Jeff Driskel, another freshman, who is second on the depth chart behind Brantley, was also injured against Alabama and didn’t even dress for LSU. That left the Gators with Brissett, the third string quarterback.

The Gators offense didn’t get off to a good start. They started with several 3 and out’s, while LSU scored a long TD pass from Jarrett Lee on their first possession of the game. That basically set the tone for the day, where the Gators were anemic on offense, with countless ineffective runs up the middle and erratic play by Brissett. The Florida offensive line couldn’t stop a three year old from penetrating. LSU’s defensive front was dominating the Gators front 5, not to mention forcing them to hold and commit false starts which subsequently caused the Gators to have poor field position . The Gator running game was non existent. Chris Rainey rushed 13 times for a total of 52 yards while Jeff Demps rushed 2 times for a total of 0 yards. Demps didn’t play much at all as he was still nursing his injured ankle from the Alabmama game. This put Brisseett in a hole almost every time he stepped onto the field. Not only was he a freshman quarterback, making his collegiate start against a top ranked defense, he also had to battle with his onw teammates who were continually making stupid plays and getting penalized for it. It really was a mess.

On more of a lighter note, Brissett did show some positives, mainly arm strength and size. He did complete some nice passes and had a 65-yard touchdown toss to Andre Debose. But unfortunately that was it.  As Gator fans we have to be patient with these freshman as the will continue to improve and learn how to play in the toughest and fastest collegiate division, the SEC. Driskel and Brissett had seen zero action until last week. Even Brantley has received limited snaps as a Senior, as he didn’t play for two years while waiting in the shadow of Tim Tebow. The Gators have a young team that is going to get better every week. Lets just hope it happens sooner than later. At 4-2, the Gators will have to be nearly perfect to get into a top-tier bowl game, but with the toughest schedule in college football, it will be difficult.

The Florida Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) face the No. 1-ranked LSU Tigers (5-0, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday, October 8, at 3:30 pm. The game will be played at LSU and one can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like. There is a reason why Tiger Stadium got the nickname Death Valley. The crowd will be louder than anything Jeff Driskel and most Gators have experienced before. The fans will be crazy and rabid. And the sea of Purple and yellow will be staggering. The Gators will face a top ranked defense and offense on Saturday that will not let up until the last second ticks off the clock. They will be in for as tough or even tougher matchup than they had last week. Though historically though the Gators have faired well.

Since 2001, the Gators & Tigers have split their 10 meetings, with each winning 5 games. However, Florida has the upper hand historically vs LSU, leading the all-time series, 30-24-3. In 2003 a freshman quarterback by the name of Chris Leak started for the Gators against LSU. He led Florida to a victory. This was the only loss of the season for LSU, who went on to win the National Championship that year with a 13 – 1 record. Hopefully, for the Gators sake, history will repeat itself on Saturday. But for that to happen we need Jeff Driskel to grow up, and grow up fast, like in one week. We also need our offensive line to actually give him a chance to throw the ball. Overall its not the defense anybody is really worried about, even though they gave up 181 yards rushing last week to one human being. Its the offense that needs to produce. I am confident that our defense will be able to keep us in this game, however if our offense can’t put points on the board than we my as well just forget it and head back to Gainesville.

This weekend will give great insight to the rest of the Gator season. Either we are going to see the future of the Florida Gators take control of his team and perform like they are capable of performing or we are going to see a freshman get crushed by a top defense and the media frenzy to follow. Hopefully its the first statement and not the latter.

The Matchup: No. 18 Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC) vs. No. 1 LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC)

When: October 8, 2011

Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Tiger Stadium

Game Time: 3:30 pm

TV: CBS

Radio: Sirius 91 / XM 91

Jeff Driskel was the #1 rated quarterback in the country coming out of high school. He is a former Gatorade Player of The Year and threw for 4,844 yards and 36 touchdowns in his career at Oviedo Hagerty High School. Driskel ran for 1,333 yards and 20 touchdowns in his senior year. He will be the fifth quarterback to start as a true freshman for the Gators. One of those quarterbacks (Chris Leak) eventually led the Gators to a National Championship in 2006. He is 6-4 235 lbs and runs the 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds. This kid is an athletic specimen and everyone knows it.

What everyone doesn’t know is which Jeff Driskel will show up on Saturday against LSU? Will it be the high school Driskel that had confidence, a ridiculous athletic ability and an arm like a cannon that could hit a target in stride while rolling out to his non throwing side? Or will it be the the same, timid, college freshman that showed the world on primetime television that he was just not ready for that Alabama Defense. I mean lets be honest, most freshman would have crumbled the same way he did if their offensive line protected them as well as the Gators protected Driskel. They basically got him killed. But, regardless of that, you could see it in his face before he even stepped on the field. When CBS showed him on the sideline, while Brantley was being helped off the field, he looked like he had seen a ghost. I can only imagine what was going through his head… “I’m gonna get killed, I’m gonna get killed, I’m gonna get killed…” Nonethless, he came out in the second half, had a few horrible offensive series that were highlighted by a 31-yard scramble and finished out the game.

Driskel has a chance to become one of the greatest Gator quarterbacks ever. He has all of the attributes that you would want in a quarterback. He’s tall, athletic, fast, versatile, has a cannon for an arm and is game smart. Offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis had this to say about Driskel, “He runs our team well…The team is not afraid when he is in there. He can make every throw. Gaining experience, that’s what he’s doing. Every time he’s out there it’s a good thing regardless what happens because he’s just gaining experience.” All I know is that I interpret this quote two different ways. One: He is going to succeed out there because everyone believes in him and he can make the plays, Two: this is probably not going to happen anytime soon as it is obvious he needs a boat-load of additional field experience to effectively manage the game and compete in the SEC.

Hopefully for every single Gator fan out there this isn’t the case. I can honestly tell you that I am praying for a miraculous win on Saturday: Driskel beats LSU in his first collegiate start and sets the Gator Nation in a FRENZY. Nothing would make me happier.